Introducing Monte Catano: The world's strongest (?) Open-Source MCTS Catan Engine _Disclaimer: I have no idea if this is actually the strongest, the only other one I found online is a part of [Catanatron](https://github.com/bcollazo/catanatron) and I currently have no way of comparing them directly._ # Introduction After burning out of chess engine programming and chess in general a couple of years ago, I got the urge to get back into engine programming with something new. For those unaware, [Catan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catan) is a popular strategy board game that involves securing resources to spend on building and developing your settlements on the island of Catan, winning by gathering enough Victory Points before the other players can. There is a significant element of randomness through dice rolls, but enough higher-level strategy to mitigate it, keeping the game interesting and the skill ceiling high.…